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42 out of 63 people found the following review useful:
Look at it objectively., 21 November 2008

Author: lassitude from Seattle

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Whoever says this is "television stooped to a new low" clearly doesn't know anything about presenting an extreme point of view in an unbiased manner. In "Whale Wars", Animal Planet has managed to give us a show that actually chronicles a very controversial group of people without taking a side. There are no endorsements for, or against, the Sea Shepherds or their activities by the production crew or the television network. After watching many biased documentaries of all sorts by all sorts, I thought Whale Wars was a nice change.

Personally, I don't really ascribe to too many environmentalist causes, for a variety of reasons. As such, I was initially skeptical when I heard about the premise of Whale Wars. I was sure I'd be getting another heavily biased faux documentary, the aim of which was to pander to one extreme on the right-left political spectrum. I was also expecting lackluster production with tedious editing.

Fortunately, none of that is the case. While most of the people involved in this venture seem almost foreign to me (I'm a gun owner, I eat meat nearly exclusively, and I consider myself an American patriot), they do not come off as completely insane ecoterrorists. This is perhaps because they're explaining themselves at every turn. There are many sit-down interviews in addition to action sequences; the viewer can then weigh what he sees them doing against what he hears them saying, and is invited to make his own judgment.

The pacing is not boring or slow, nor is it rushed. As we see the Sea Shepherds deciding on tactics and the commission of their actions, we also see the consequences of what they do. They are not glorified or lionized, and I don't come away feeling as if the show has tried to legitimize or marginalize them one way or the other. The same goes for what we are able to see of the Japanese whaling ships.

But this is where the niceties end. After multiple attempts to communicate with the Japanese, the Sea Shepherds become aggressive. When I first heard about this group and some of their tactics, such as throwing stink bombs onto the whaling ships, I felt they were completely outside their rights as activists. However, that's because I thought they were attacking these vessels in Japanese waters, exclusively. When I learned that the Japanese were not in their own territory, I had to reconsider.

Are the Sea Shepherds right, or wrong? That's for individual viewers to decide. Are their tactics effective? I suppose we'll all have to wait for the Japanese and Australian governments to make an action before we can determine that.

I'm forced to admit, though... The Sea Shepherds definitely have guts, and aren't slacking. Their missteps are shown alongside what they consider victories, and I can at least appreciate that they've decided to actually DO something about what they call a problem, instead of asking others to do it for them. I've never liked whiners, which is why I can admire them for being active and aggressive (though arguably nonviolent) instead of just sitting around whining about it.

98 out of 182 people found the following review useful:
Great comedy if it were not so pathetically manipulative..., 24 December 2008

Author: nefastus from United States

First off, I oppose whaling, but frankly if this troop of inexperienced sea crew were the ones out to save the whale, and I was a whale, I would beach myself. Not only are they inept, the last episode's staged gun shot to the captain was enough to set me over the edge and consider this nothing more than propaganda and trash. It is no wonder that Green Peace distanced themselves for the Captain and his lemmings. This show does more to hurt the anti-whaling movement than to help it. Not only is the crew inept, they have no integrity.

At first the show was humorous with its daily following of the inexperienced crew that is sailing out to Artic waters and we get to see that they are all environmentally conscious as well as "veggies". Their dedication to saving whales over rides their common sense as well as that as the Captain for obtaining such a crew of idealists that really don't know the aft from the stern. Here they are thrust into dangerous waters with nothing but the power of hope. Sounds suicidal doesn't it? You almost get the sense you are watching a crew lead by Jim Jones sailing only on ideals.

But with the last episode of the ship throwing bottles of acid at the deck of a Japanese Whaler in order to stink up the deck and spoil the whaling meat, the Captain fakes being shot by what he claims was one of the Japanese whaling ship's crew. It is so obviously staged that one cannot pretend that these people are not only misguided, but will lie to get attention to set themselves up as martyrs and victims of the Japanese Whaling Industry.

I opposed whaling, but I detest these people more and their Captain who will go to any length to bolster his ego as being the lone fighter against Whalers. I honestly think he probably doesn't even care about the Whales more than he does his image as their savior.

31 out of 57 people found the following review useful:
This Show is Great., 15 December 2008

Author: andrewvo1324 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Please are you guys serious about how Watson's group are terrorists... what they do is go up to a Whaling ship, asks them to stop and then Gives them a letter telling them what they are doing is illegal. Yes OK, they throw the acid stuff on board(harmless except to smell) and jumped on the ship which is being a pirate but it is nothing as bad as what the Japanese do. The Japanese tied them up, attacked them, and attempted to throw them off board? They also throw Grenades at the ship which can hurt the crew and shot the captain.

Anyways This show is great. It's about how a group of "activists" use direct force to stop the Japanese whalers who "are doing research on whales" when they are really whaling. Instead of telling them to stop and while the government does nothing to enforce it they intervene directly by Chasing them and going on their ships telling them to stop. While the Japanese uses Physical attacking and grenade.

Watch this show :]

15 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Great people doing an amazing job!, 25 November 2011

Author: Ele Jump from United Kingdom

Love this show, it highlights the completely unnecessary whaling that is still going on today. Yes they don't always get the best crew but what can you expect when all they can afford is volunteers. Paul and his regular crew are brilliant at what they do. The show is fairly well made and does its job of informing people what is still happening. The crew are very brave and thrown into a world they think they understand but soon learn just how difficult and dangerous it is.

Those people who have reviewed and said this is a comedy and rubbish and clearly clueless. The Sea Shephards do an amazing job and even if they cannot stop the Japanese Whaling Fleet they can certainly hinder how much of their quota they can actually catch, allowing the whales time to recover. Whaling is disgusting and so outdated now its about time it was made fully illegal and these whalers learnt that there is no need for it anymore today. Well done Sea Shephards for actually doing something! I only wish I was out there with you!

17 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Ship of Fools., 13 August 2010
Author: pro_crustes from Atlantic Coast, USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I can't rate this gripping show about a bunch of idiots talked into risking their lives so Paul Watson can get some air time, because it is great TV that no one should be watching. Capt. Watson says he prefers to use amateurs over professionals, because the former have more heart for the mission. What he leaves out is that the latter wouldn't make (I'm guessing) two-to-five life-threateningly stupid mistakes per day. None of his worthless tactics (glass bottles of smelly acid thrown at the whalers, ropes trailed across their bows to foul propellers, running intercept courses in his slower-than-the-target fragile ship) do diddly to stop the Japanese whalers, but the bumbling landlubbers he lets break, ground, or crack up many thousands of dollars of maritime gear are guaranteed to put on a good show. Very disturbingly, one gets the idea that Watson's preference for amateurs is due to the fact that they will ignorantly endanger their lives where professionals would just know better, and watching people almost kill themselves is something he thinks we'll all be eager to do.

At first, their passion is endearing and their methods seem mildly Ghandi-esq. But, not long after the first time you watch, their monotone recitals of the shipboard party lines ("we only use non-violent means," "we're here for the whales," "we're ready to risk our lives for Paul- I mean, for the whales") start to sound like hypnotic mantras, giving way, eventually, to plain old whining. For example, when the Japanese return "fire" to the Sea Shepherds' glass bottles full of acid with metal nuts and bolts, the environmentalists complain that theirs was a "harmless" attack, while the Japanese are clearly out to do some personal injury. Frankly, the difference between being hit in the head with a thumb-sized bolt and a glass bottle full of liquid is lost on me. Likewise their insistence that fouling the prop on a single-screw ship in antarctic waters is "non-violent" seems pathetically naive. If the Japanese can't clear their propeller, any disabled ship's crew will have to transfer to another craft, over water so cold it kills by hypothermia in minutes. Yet, when circled by Japanese ships so the factory craft can escape, the Sea Shepherds suddenly grow acutely aware of how dangerous any hazard to navigation can be in the far southern ocean.

Watching these knuckleheads capsize boats, knock off outboard props, lose their way, nearly run out of water, oil, and fuel, and commit every other possible screw-up with the millions of dollars' worth of toys apparently bought for them entirely by television celebrities is fun for a while. But only until you realize that the one man on board who knows what he's doing never takes any of those risks himself, happily standing firm at the helm, while a passionate crew of Keystone Kops insures his real purpose: to get himself on TV.

A Twitter post said it well, "If these guys are their best hope, the whales should start voluntarily swimming towards the Japanese." Sad fact is, saving the whales is neither Watson's purpose, nor is it the act of saving this show most demands. What needs saving is Watson's crew and, if we have any integrity at all, we'll do our part and e-mail Animal Planet that we've decided to watch something else.

39 out of 77 people found the following review useful:
Excellent documentary film making!, 10 March 2009

Author: youAreCrazyDude from Portland, Oregon, USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Previous comment of this movie bashed the Captain and his crew and the Movie, too. Sure, we must listen to both negative and positive comments. But the details of the movie become irrelevant if we look at the broader picture: how the Animals become extinct, how the Animals have no way of defending themselves against evil human technology and its byproducts: fishing lines, overfishing, drag-netting thousands of years of corral riff beds into thousand year ocean deserts, etc. Regardless of "humorous" film details, "inexperienced crew", "veggies", "idealism", "nothing but the power of hope", "suicidal", But think about it: if not the Sea Shepperd, with their "nothing but the power of hope", then WHO will inform the world and keep the world AWARE of the very sensitive balance of the Nature the humans can destroy? Yes, it might take some "ego bolstering", "getting attention to set themselves up as martyrs", etc, but in this case THE MEANS WELL JUSTIFY THE ENDS: the end result is that the World is AWARE of the fine and very sensitive balance that Humans can destroy at will. It does not matter how we engage the viewer - as long as we achieve the very much needed RESULT - AWARENESS.

12 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
These guys definitely got heart., 2 August 2010
Author: angegon23 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

There are a lot of people out there criticizing, criticizing, and criticizing but what for? Because I can bet loads of money that you, the criticizers, have no guts to go out there and do what the Sea Shepheards do. Going out there to risk your life to prove a point requires dedication, heart, hope, something you will not, nor ever have. So whatever these guys are inexperienced but they have something the enemy doesn't have, which is dedication. Isn't there a saying that if you really put your mind to something that you can do whatever the heart desires? Last time I checked there is. The desire of the Sea Shepheard is to stop the merciless killing of thousands of innocent whales. So what if their tactics are mediocre but, hey they work. They must work if the whalers put up nets to stop from them throwing stink bombs (that are completely harmless), they install LRAD devices to ward them off, but NEWSFLASH:all of what they do doesn't seem to work because hey the Sea Shepheard keep coming back. These guys aren't terrorists in any way. Terrorist are people who go against international law. These people don't. There is a law that if government forces aren't going to enforce the law, they can. So watch this show it shows real bravery, real heart, and you have to admit real entertainment. I mean every time a show premiers I just can't wait for the next one to premiere.

0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Watch this!, 31 December 2012

Author: lovemyvautecoat from United States

All you fancy naval types and naysayers, who cares if you watch the show for comic relief.

Tod Emko (2008 and 2012-2013) is the sexiest man alive. Truth.

Reason enough to watch.

Whatever you may have to say about the captain, the crews, the tactics and the show, fact is that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is doing important work here--stopping the illegal poaching of whales in a sanctuary, and on an even larger scale, working to conserve the planet's oceans and its inhabitants. Most people don't seem to know or care that their "seafood" is obtained through trawling, which scoops up and kills all manner of marine life. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080215121207.htm Or that life on the planet is tied to the health of the oceans. This whale poaching is on track to be shut down, and soon. This is thanks to Sea Shepherd.

1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Good people doing good things, but lacks excitement., 30 June 2012

Author: scupper-simons

I really do appreciate what these people are doing for the benefit of the whales, but the show is completely lacking of excitement. The crew seems like they sometimes have absolutely NO idea what they're supposed to do, and they end up falling back to their captain who just sits there writing poems. And to add onto all of this, they have the WORST of luck, which makes the show that more unwatchable. The only thing that this show has going for it is the way these people are actually doing something about the whaling industry in Japan. If you are looking for another documentary style show, I would recommend 'The Deadliest Catch'.

1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Captivating,Gripping,Inspiring, 27 June 2012

Author: silkfunkydiva

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I had already sent off my application to volunteer with Sea Shepherd before I heard about Whale Wars. I decided it might be a good idea to get a heads up on exactly what these volunteer missions entail. I was slightly hesitant about watching footage of any actual killing,However the emphasis should definitely be on 'Wars' more than 'Whales'. Guerilla warfare,strategic planning and tactical manoeuvres all come into play as Sea Shepherd,armed with intelligence, helicopters,ships,and speedboats go in hot pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet in an effort to disrupt as much of their whaling activities with direct action ,moving as close to the line as possible without crossing it.They frequently put their lives in danger and risk the wrath of the hunters on board who are not afraid to defend their ships.Captain Paul Watson is usually one step ahead as he plans his next move and he and his crew stop at nothing to ensure the whalers are under constant attack often with serious consequences.Miss at your peril!

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